Compostable

“If it came from the earth, it can go back to the earth,” explained Meghan McGill, an account manager with Smart Recycling, the private company that transports compostable materials to Charleston County’s Bees Ferry Compost Facility. 

 

The simple phrase summarizes the composting process, as well as serves as the basis for what can and cannot go into the city food scrap bins and your backyard compost pile.

 

McGill was one of four presenters who educated more than 50 residents at a sold-out composting seminar hosted by the City of Charleston earlier this month at the Daniel Island Recreation Center. Attendees learned how to participate in the city’s food scrap drop off program, as well as how to create backyard compost piles.

 

WHY COMPOST?

 

“Food is the number one item found in landfills,” Charleston County Sustainability Coordinator Arielle Gerstein said. She explained that food does not break down in a landfill, but instead produces methane gas –  a greenhouse gas associated with climate change – which is

25 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.

 

Gerstein stressed that waste reduction – only purchasing and preparing what you need – is one of the most important things you can do to keep food out of landfills. “Forty percent of food is wasted in the U.S., meaning it’s not consumed.”

 

Other ways to combat food waste include donating what you don’t eat to shelters and food banks, feeding it to pets and farm animals, recycling it for industrial uses and composting.

 

“The last resort is to throw food into the trash where it goes to landfills,” Gerstein noted.

 

In addition to reducing methane gas, composting saves taxpayer money by reducing the amount of garbage the city pays to ship to landfills. Currently, the Charleston region throws away more than 30,000 tons of food scraps each year, which makes up a quarter of the collected garbage. 

 

Other benefits to composting include nourishing soil and reducing flooding, as well as reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.

 

FOOD SCRAP SITES

 

Katie McKain, director of Sustainability for the City of Charleston, explained that the food scrap drop program is part of the city’s Climate Action Plan, which was passed in 2021.

 

Last year, the city launched a pilot food scrap program. McKain noted that the program proved successful and is now being expanded to include more drop locations, including the one recently added on Daniel Island. 

 

Residents can sign up for the free program on the city’s website. Signup includes a short quiz on what is compostable. Once you successfully sign up, you will receive a code to open the lock at the drop cart location.

 

The Daniel Island food drop cart is located in Governors Park at the end of the parking lot closest to the dog park. Smart Recycling will empty the drop cart several times a week and take the materials to the Bees Ferry facility.

 

If you use a composting bag, only use bags that are labeled “BPI Compostable.” Biodegradable bags are not accepted as they do not compost quickly enough. If you don’t use bags, rinse your container after each use with natural deodorizers such as baking soda or

cinnamon.

 

The drop off locations are only for food scraps and not for yard waste. See the informational graphic for what items are and are not accepted.

 

“When in doubt, throw it out,” McGill said. “It is better to have a couple of things go in the landfill than to landfill an entire compost cart” because of contamination, she explained.

 

Daniel Island resident Pam Thesing attended the seminar and signed up to access the food scrap drop site. The information about food insecurity – Gerstein shared that 38 million Americans are food insecure and one in nine South Carolinians experience hunger –

resonated with her. 

 

“I heard a sermon a few years ago about how food waste is a sin and that has just stuck with me all these years,” Thesing said. She also said that food waste’s link to methane gas also motivated her to participate in the food scrap program.

 

To sign up or for additional information, including a map to drop sites, visit charleston-sc.gov/compost.

 

BACKYARD COMPOSTING

 

Betsy La Force, communities and transportation senior project manager for the Coastal Conservation League, shared the basics of backyard composting.

 

La Force noted that it only takes four main ingredients to create a backyard compost pile and that all the ingredients are found in nature.

 

Browns are items such as dry leaves, shredded newspaper, wood shavings and hay. 

 

“Yard debris bags on the curb are a free gift to you,” La Force joked, urging composters to use them to keep their backyard piles balanced.

 

Greens are the same items identified as acceptable for the city’s food scrap bins (see infographic), such as fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds, and eggshells. Dairy products are not recommended. Grass clippings are also good for backyard compost piles. 

 

Air provides oxygen. Turning your pile helps circulate oxygen.

 

Water is the final ingredient. Rain and Lowcountry humidity generally provides all the water you will need.

 

For best results, your pile should be one part green to three parts brown.

 

“Nature really does most of the work here,” La Force said. “Don’t stress. You can’t get it wrong.” She advised to adjust as you go.

 

Jennifer and David Axnan attended the program with their small children. David Axnan said their first compost effort was a “total failure” and that he almost gave up. After making a few tweaks, they created healthy compost that they use in their vegetable garden.

 

“We put food in it every day. Anytime I cook and peel carrots and cut up peppers, it fills up the bin so fast and he just goes and dumps it and turns it,” Jennifer Axnan said. “We noticed a lot less waste between recycling and composting.” 

 

Helen Koulseth also has a backyard compost pile. “I use it to decrease the amount of waste. I have three kids that don’t always eat their vegetables,” she joked. Her kids are involved with the composting efforts by dumping the food scraps onto the pile. “They call it ‘feeding the worms,’” she said.

 

For additional resources and guides on backyard composting, visit: scdhec.gov/compost or scdhec.gov/dwfsc.

 

 

Editor's Note: This story was updated to reflect that SMART Recycling does the hauling of materials to the Charleston County Bee's Ferry  Compost facility. It does not manage the facility.